J C C DA N A A G R A H A E N T R E F O R I T I Z E N S H I P A N D E M O C R A C Y

4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanthnagar, Bangalore 560052 Ph: +91-80-2237 0092, 5127 7102 / 103 Fax: +91-80-2237 0093info@janaagraha.org www.janaagraha.org

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A N A A G R A H A E N T R E F O RI T I Z E N S H I P A N D E M O C R A C Y

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Published in June 2006

Layout and Design: Resource Communications Pvt. Ltd, Bangalore

Printed at: Mytec Process Pvt. Ltd

E V O L U T I O N O F J A N A A G R A H A

Janaagraha started in December 2001, with the conviction that citizen participation is

central not just for greater accountability of government, but for better-quality

governance, to equitable outcomes and to collective ownership. The focus of

Janaagraha’s work is urban India and Bangalore has been the pilot laboratory for our

grassroot activity. Our first campaign—participatory budgeting in the ward—proved

overwhelmingly that people do care and want to participate—so long as the process is

scientific, fair and transparent.

The geographic footprint of participation that Janaagraha focuses on is that of local

government and within that, it is the Ward. This is because the ward is the smallest

political unit of local government with an elected representative, and hence has

accountability closest to the people.

Since that first campaign, we have been deepening and expanding our grassroots

experiences and comparing them to larger ideas about democracy and democratic

processes. This journey of understanding democratic ideals, institutions and

processes—locally and globally—and the role of citizens, is a continuous one. We strive to

constantly reflect this continuous learning in our activities.

Janaagraha's work is fundamentally about two things:

1. Creating new politically legitimate space at the local level, which includes all

citizens in the process of decision-making. That is, deepening the idea of

democracy beyond the occasional trip to the ballot box, and providing the

citizen with an on-going right to have a voice in decisions that affect her.

2. Strengthening the ability of the two central political players—the citizen and

elected representative—to participate in these spaces. This means evolving robust

structures, processes and tools for such participation.

Our experiences have shown that passion, conviction and ideas in grassroot activity

bring best results when they are in tandem with stable organisational structures and

processes. Janaagraha has evolved in these last four years from being an open citizens'

platform to the more rigorous institutional structure called the Janaagraha Centre for

Citizenship and Democracy (JCCD).

While the "idea" of democracy is a

romantic one—of free speech, fair

elections, checks and balances—the

actual "practice" of democracy is

more mundane—the simple,

regular, organised forms of local

engagement.

J A N A A G R A H A’ S VA L U E S , P U R P O S E A N D V I S I O N

CORE VALUES

Positivity: To believe that real change is possible, if everyone did his or her bit.

Belief in the power of the community: To recognise that the central means of all action

is a collective one. From an inclusive community comes collective strength, and also the

building of long-term bonds that will shape our society.

Constructive Engagement: To engage (with individuals, communities and organisations)

in the spirit of partnership and give the benefit of doubt until proven otherwise.

Professionalism: To deliver on individual roles and responsibilities at the highest

degree of commitment and capability at all times.

Moral Compass: To consistently be guided in all actions by the principle of moral truth

and be concerned with not just the ends but the means as well.

Compassion: To empathise with and support those in real need and carry out one's

responsibilities in building a caring and just society.

CORE PURPOSE

To improve the quality of life for all by improving the quality of public governance.

VISION 2025

To fundamentally transform the trajectory of our country, in 20 years.

VIVID DESCRIPTION

Twenty years from now, India will be best known for the quality of life it offers to its

citizens. And this will be accomplished through the practice of democracy that is

based on personal freedom, collective action and transparency. A democracy, that

provides every citizen with a direct voice and an active role in public governance,

leading to an abundance of public and private wealth.

This vision for India would be achieved by developing participatory structures of

public governance, by evolving a sense of shared ownership of the environment and the

community's destiny and by establishing practices of engagement that ensure broad

participation in public governance, of the entire citizenry.

India would provide to the world a model of democracy that brings individual

ambition and common cause into harmony, and helps unleash the creativity of millions

of Indians in ways that generate the greatest rewards for the society as a whole. By

2025, no Indian would have reason to feel disenfranchised and in fact would

have every chance to fulfill his/her personal potential while making the greatest

possible contribution to the society.

01

D E M O C R A C Y A N D C I T I Z E N S H I P — G L O B A L C O N T E X T

The core of any democratic process deals with the arrangements around decision

making in collective settings. Established models of representative democracy and

aggregate decision-making (majority wins) have become the dominant forms of binding

collective decision-making in many, if not most democracies.

These operating models are attempts to find mechanisms to reach an ideal state of

democracy, where free and equal individuals can engage in a process of such binding

collective decision-making, and authorise a polyarchy to enforce such decisions.

While no model is perfect across the world democratic structures and practices are

constantly being transformed—as are societies—and new arrangements are evolving for

interactions between groups of citizens, and between citizens, the state and markets.

This has caused citizen expectations of the state to evolve, and current mechanisms

of representative democracy fail to adequately meet these expectations.

At the heart of many successful practices that are emerging, is the concept of a

greater role of the citizen in the decision-making processes. These practices are often

informal—where community participation is encouraged, but without any binding or

institutional rooting. These are now increasingly being formalised through laws and

formal structures.

There is a distinction between this new generation of structures and mechanisms

that are evolving—broadly clubbed under the phrase 'Participatory Democracy—PD' or

'Deliberative Democracy—DD'. Both PD and DD accept Representative Democracy, and

seek to deepen it, by giving opportunities for citizens to participate in specific ways. In

this sense, it is an evolutionary process in moving democratic mechanisms forward,

rather than a revolutionary one.

INTRODUCTION

I N D I A N C O N T E X T

The move towards a more participatory form of democracy is one that needs to be

especially cultivated in young democracies, particularly those that emerge from a feudal

and culturally complex past like India. In new democracies, federalism and participatory

processes at the local level serve a much larger purpose: they act as political

kindergartens to educate the citizen. As with most hazy notions about India's glorious

past, most Indians assume that we invented the concept of federalism and

decentralisation: images of a panchayat negotiating the affairs of the village are part of

our collective consciousness.

INTRODUCTION

Democracy and Citizenship—Global Context 01

Indian Context 01

Approach of Janaagraha 02

Janaagraha's Impact 05

JCCD Governance Structure 10

Janaagraha’s Governing Board 11

JCCD Programme Profile 12

Research 16

Training 17

Advocacy 19

LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES

Community Leaders’ Network 24Ward Sabha / Area Sabha 24Voter Lists And Election Turn-out 25Bala Janaagraha 27

Yuva Janaagraha 28

PARTNER PROGRAMMES

Outreach 30 PROOF 31 VOTEINDIA 32

India Urban Space (IndiaUSP) 32

RESOURCE PROGRAMMES

Administration 36 Technology 36 Communications 37 Human Resources and Volunteer Management 38 Leadership Support Group 39 Funding 40

CORE PROGRAMMES

C O N T E N T S

If liberty and equality, as is thought

by some, are chiefly to be found in

democracy, they will be best

attained when all persons alike

share in the government to the

utmost

—Aristotle

02

J ANAAGRAHA C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENSHIP AND D EMOCARCY

03

Despite our reasonably old but discontinuous history of town republics, this

assumption is misplaced: there is little evidence of organised political institutions in

India until the mid-eighteenth century. Sunil Khilani in his book The Idea of India,

says, "No concept of a state emerged: kings represented only themselves, never enduring

states. Unlike the history of Europe, that of pre-colonial India shows no upward curve

in the responsibilities and capacities of the state. The British gradually but decisively

defined power in political terms and located it in a sovereign, central state."

From the introduction of the Morley-Minto municipal reforms in 1909, the arc of

India's political evolution raced over the next forty years, through the 1919 Montagu-

Chelmsford reforms, which changed this structure to grant Indians a form of

responsible government, until finally the Government of India Act of 1935, which gave

India a quasi-federal structure of government. With Independence, the Constitution

adopted much of the framework of federal management laid out in the 1935 Act.

With the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments in 1992, we completed the

federal puzzle in our country. As George Mathews says, "The Panchayats—districts and

below are now treated as third stratum of governance (with) more than 500 district

governments within India besides 2,50,000 Village Governments."

Unfortunately, such leadership is sorely lacking in urban decentralisation. Caught in

the penumbra of the spotlight on their rural brethren, the urban citizens are finding

themselves in a governance vacuum.

Today, democracy to most Indians is

a lot like cricket: a spectator sport.

Janaagraha's work in the area of public institutions is driven by strong beliefs about

democracy and citizenship. It requires a fair degree of effort on many fronts, in multiple

dimensions. At one level, there are challenges with respect to articulating a vision for a

model of participatory democracy that is feasible in the rough-and-tumble of everyday

life. At another, there is the need to create sufficient success stories of such workings at

the grassroots, and mobilise citizens to own these ideas. A third challenge is to identify

reforms in the practice of public institutions, define these in specific terms, and

advocate such change. A fourth challenge is to establish a platform for the sustainable

spreading of such ideas, beyond small isolated islands of change. A fifth challenge is to

do all of the above with method and reason.

Given the fairly complex tapestry of the challenges described along the five

dimensions, Janaagraha's aim is to bring a new language to improving public

governance, defined by the following characteristics:

INTRODUCTION

Seeking supply-side reform: improvements within government that can create

internal energy for change; stoking demand-side participation: taking a focused,

problem solving approach, rather than an ideological approach to such processes of

democratic change—going beyond terms like collaboration or confrontation, and

looking for constructive engagement, where citizens can be informed and responsible

partners in the decision-making process; seeking intellectual frameworks that support

on-the-ground success: nothing substitutes for citizen mobilisation; bringing successful

practices—wherever they work, be it in the public or the private sector—into the public

domain: technology, communications, community management, performance

measurement, volunteer mobilisation etc.

"Rights-based" approach and Janaagraha

In 1995, the Copenhagen Declaration reaffirmed the link between human rights and

development by establishing a new consensus that places people at the centre of

concerns for sustainable development. Also, pledging to eradicate poverty, to promote

full and productive employment, and to foster social integration to achieve stable, safe

and just societies for all.

If one examines Janaagraha's activities, this approach infuses all our work: we place

the citizen at the centre of the development paradigm; we foster social integration by

bringing different social groups together for a common cause; we work specifically to

bring the urban poor into the governance conversation in a manner that is inclusive

and non-threatening to them.

The development paradigm has hitherto used the term inclusive to bring in socially

excluded segments of society. While this is necessary, the approach adopted is strangely

an exclusionary one, in that it does not create a common platform for all

constituencies, but rather attempts to isolate the neglected community, almost as if to

suggest that the others have been responsible for this exclusion, and that they must

always be kept at arms length. Such an approach does little to mitigate the social issues

underlying the original problem, and hence require enormous amounts of external

energy, which when removed, will likely return the local condition to its original state.

Hence translating the ideal state of inclusive spaces where free and equal individuals

and groups make collective decisions into a reality of fostering inclusiveness might

require an alternative approach, one that proposes to make the process of decision-

making inherently inclusive from the very start. This approach is fundamentally

different from a more traditional rights-based approach that has different views on

power and power structures, and therefore different approaches that seek to wrest such

spaces for the underprivileged. Janaagraha's belief is that while incumbent power groups

We need the right plumbing in

government for good quality

information to flow. And we need

citizens to open the taps of

information, because the system will

not do it on its own.

A P P R O A C H O F J A N A A G R A H A

04 05

will have resistance to sharing these spaces with less privileged groups there is certainly

merit in adopting an approach that brings the less privileged groups into such spaces as

part of an inclusive argument based on democratic processes, rather than an aggressive

one. While this approach does not guarantee immediate success, it holds significant

potential.

It moves closer to the ideal of inclusive spaces immediately, since all processes are

inclusive in methodology and spirit. A more aggressive one will require integration

between these groups.

The work itself does not result in the sharpening of conflict between the groups, and

the creation of possible negative energies in the process.

It recognises that while there may be differences between different groups of citizens

in terms of access to services and even democratic spaces, neither group today has any

formal voice or space to participate in decision-making.

Given Janaagraha's views on democracy, there is a need for substantial change in

how public institutions create spaces for such citizen-voice and engagement. This will

require an enormous amount of work to be done both in the grassroots and at the level

of advocacy to change this. This work will need multiple skills and time, which the poor

alone do not possess. Bringing the middle-class into the governance vacuum to address

these issues fulfils the criterion of being truly inclusive, and also ensures that such skills

and time are used to build the foundation of formal space for citizens. Once this

space is created, it will be for ALL citizens, including the poor. Along the way,

additional effort is required to bring the poor into such spaces in a manner that is

non-threatening, and to sensitise the non-poor to recognise the legitimacy and priority

of the needs of the poor.

At an individual level, such an approach is premised on the fundamental goodness

of people, rather than one driven by creating checks and balances on human behaviour.

This approach may not necessarily be valid in every situation, or even work effectively.

However, the same can be said for the exclusive approach as well. In choosing between

these two, specifically within this dimension of human instinct, Janaagraha's approach is

to choose one that is more oriented towards peace. This is also consistent with the

belief that participation creates a just and caring society. Here, our belief is that when

the right spaces and processes of democracy are created for public discussion, they ignite

the inherent goodness in people.

Hence, Janaagraha's approach has been to attempt to bring in all stakeholders of a

city together, however antagonistic they may be to each other: industry representatives,

slum-dwellers, the NGO sector, academia and technical experts, as well as local

government and other special agencies that have responsibility for urban services.

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY INTRODUCTION

While aspiring to an ideal democratic structure, Janaagraha's approach is a pragmatic

one, that looks at opportunities to create change in the direction of the ideals of greater

centrality to the citizen in decision-making, chipping away at the edifice of the current

structure, and yet not taking an anarchic or radical view of change. The belief is that

this pragmatism does not require a compromise of integrity; that a more pure form of

the solution will emerge iteratively.

Hence, while change is not continuous, the pressures for change need to be

relentless.

J A N A A G R A H A ' S I M PA C T

Janaagraha is designing performance metrics that can help us evaluate the success of our

medium and long-term goals. The challenging task of measuring work in the non-profit

sector is especially difficult when it comes to measuring attitudinal changes among

various stakeholders—citizens, elected representatives, political parties, administrators

etc.

Janaagraha completed four years of existence in December 2005. Highlights of the

outcomes of our work over these past few years are:

1. Grassroot community-based activities

a. Ward planning and budgeting: In its first phase, called the Ward Works

campaign, Janaagraha took one item of the city's budget (about 6%) and the

citizens' voice was brought into the selection, prioritisation and implementation

of various local area works. Results: 22% of the city's Ward Works budget (Rs 11

crores out of Rs 50 crores) was decided by citizens. In its second phase, called the

Ward Vision campaign, Janaagraha completed one of the most comprehensive

citizen-centric (over 2,000 citizens took part) workshop-driven approaches in

participatory planning, to generate ten ward-level, 3-year vision documents. In

addition, grassroot communities and networks were formed and strengthened in

ten of the city's 100 wards—these have benefits that go beyond the tangible

outputs of budgets and plans.

b. Ward Sabhas: Janaagraha's model of participatory democracy is about structured

citizen engagement at the ward level. While Janaagraha is advocating

amendments to municipal acts that legitimise citizen participation in Bangalore,

I am of the opinion that it is

Janaagraha which taught us (me in

particular) regarding the various

levels and functions of the

government. I did not even have a

fair idea about the basis of ward

formations, ward committees, our

importance in interacting with

various departments etc. Hence I

unconditionally owe it to

Janaagraha for making me aware of

these facts.

—Mr Gurudas

Volunteer

We are all shareholders in

government, except that we can

never sell our shares.

06 07

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY INTRODUCTION

informal platforms for participation have been created at the grassroots. These

informal platforms—ward sabhas—are active in 15 of Bangalore's 100 wards,

seeking to bring elected representative, service providers and citizens across all

sections of the ward together. The processes and tools for these ward sabhas are

now being streamlined based on experiences over the past 24 months. As formal

laws are passed, it is anticipated that the current practice of ward sabhas will be

absorbed into the proposed Area Sabha/Ward Committee structures being

proposed by Janaagraha (see section on Ward Sabhas).

c. Urban Poor: While all of Janaagraha's work is inclusive and attempts to bring all

citizens onto a common platform, a few specific activities were taken up focusing

exclusively on the urban poor. Examples:

i. Swarna Jayanthi Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) pilot in Bangalore: An

existing, reasonably well-designed but poorly-executed Government of India

programme—SJSRY was taken up with the aim of resuscitating it in

Bangalore. It involved four stakeholders: urban poor, government, bankers,

and NGOs. There were solid outcomes in linking banks to the poor, however

fewer outcomes in linking the poor into larger governance structures.

ii. A common Below Poverty Line (BPL) List, pilot programme: This was done

in partnership with three government agencies in three slum clusters in

Bangalore—Department of Municipal Administration (DMA), Food & Civil

Supplies (F&CS), Slum Board. Results indicated that common names across

all three BPL lists were a startling six per cent, suggesting the need for a

thorough revamp of beneficiary identification processes. The concept of a

common BPL List has been proposed to the Government of Karnataka as a

result of this exercise.

d. Citizen leadership in children: Bala Janaagraha is in its third year, currently

running in 50 schools, with close to 5000 students. This programme on local

civic literacy connects school students to local communities, service providers,

and includes field visits and projects.

e. Signature campaigns: Two signature campaigns were conducted over the past

three years; one for the Ward Works campaign which generated 1.5 lakh

signatures; the second was for a campaign called Taxation with Transparency,

demanding that the city not raise property taxes until full compliance on existing

demands was established—this campaign generated 54,000 signatures, and was

run by community leaders themselves.

2. Partnerships with local governments and service providers

a. PROOF (Public Record Of Operations and Finance): This is a first-of-a-kind

campaign to get quarterly statements from the local government. Conceived by

Janaagraha, four civil society partners were associated with PROOF in its first

year, and two more joined in the second year. Quarterly discussions with hard

facts are being held, among all concerned stakeholders. PROOF completes three

years, and currently operates as a separate platform, with goals to both deepen its

work, and expand its operations to other cities. PROOF has been recognised by

both the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and World Bank, as

among international best practices in public accountability. PROOF is now going

to other cities—Nagpur.

b. A joint Online Complaint Management System (OCMS): This has been

implemented with Bangalore Water Supply Board and Bangalore Development

Authority and is now dependent on leadership and commitment from the

agencies.

c. Greater Bangalore Water and Sanitation Project (GBWASP): GBWASP is a

project for the provision of water and sanitation to 1.5 million residents, in eight

municipalities in greater Bangalore. Janaagraha entered into a unique MoU with

the state government in Karnataka, anchoring the citizen participation

component—Jalamitra. For Janaagraha, this was an important partnership effort

with the government, in the face of criticism from a few quarters, to establish

the importance of citizen participation. Jalamitra was an important precedent to

showcase how projects can be implemented elsewhere. However, Janaagraha did

not hesitate in disengaging from the project when the state government did not

deliver on critical commitments of the agreement. Janaagraha’s approach is

consistently one of partnership but without compromising on the principles we

believe in or on our ability to voice dissent.

3. Volunteer activities

Central to Janaagraha's approach has been the active encouragement of volunteering,

both in building values of citizenship and to continuously infuse the organisation

with new ideas and energies. Since Janaagraha's inception, over 5,000 volunteers

including college students, professionals, retired people, home-makers and

researchers have given time to Janaagraha, totaling over four million man-hours.

08 09

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

These cover a spectrum of backgrounds and skills. Our access to volunteers are both

through individual referrals and through institutional relationships. Over the past

three years, we have worked with more than 40 companies and educational

institutions, with deep continuing relationships with many of them, including

strategic and logistics support for our programmes.

4. Partner activities with civic groups and institutions

Central to the creation of public change is the need for networking and partnership

among like-minded civil society institutions. Janaagraha actively seeks to establish

such partnerships in various activities. Examples include:

a. PROOF: Conceived by Janaagraha, five other institutions have participated in

establishing PROOF today as a stand-alone platform: Public Affairs Centre,

Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, Voices, Akshara and Credit Rating

Information Services of India Limited.

b. Urban Poor Pilot: Janaagraha enabled a network of over 15 NGO partners, the

commercial banking system and the government, in running a one-year pilot for

SJSRY urban poor project in Bangalore.

c. Bangalore Masterplan 2005-2015 feedback: Janaagraha coordinated collective

feedback workshops with a range of stakeholders including businesses, architects

and planners, real estate developers, urban poor institutions, gram panchayat

representatives, environment and heritage supporters, and community

organisations. A comprehensive feedback report was submitted to state and local

planning authorities and influenced the government appointed masterplan

review committee’s report.

d. Loksatta: One of Janaagraha's programmes on verification of Voter Lists is being

carried out as part of a partnership with a national campaign for electoral

reforms called VOTEINDIA, conceived and coordinated by Loksatta,

Hyderabad.

e. Complaint Management Systems: Janaagraha has brought a successful system

implemented by Praja and Nixel from Mumbai, and developed on it for

Bangalore, in partnership with Nixel.

f. India Urban Space (IndiaUSP): This is the first national conference on the

impact of SPACE on urban issues. Initiated by Janaagraha, the first one was held

in February 2006 in Goa, in partnership with USAid and National Institute of

Urban Affairs. The conference brought together stalwarts from government,

academia, civil society and subject matter experts for discussions and consensus

on four themes of Urban Space and Equitable Economic Growth: urban poor;

INTRODUCTION

What is it that holds many of us

back from playing our role as

citizens? Time, opportunity,

awareness, community bindings,

collaborative spaces. Janaagraha

provides all this and more. Creating

a successful citizen who will be the

thread that weaves a successful

citizen community, to create the

fabric of a vibrant democracy

through legitimate avenues, is the

journey Janaagraha hs embarked

upon and proceeding at an

unstoppable pace!

—Sapna Karim

Volunteer Coordinator

J A N A A G R A H A’ S G O A L S

Ensure the passage of laws for institutionalising citizen participation and disclosure in urban areas in at least three states in the country, including Karnataka.

Create a critical mass of urban governance change in Bangalore.Successfully integrate the urban poor into local governance discussions.

MEDIUM-TERM GOALS

(3-5 YEARS)

Contribute significantly to public governance reforms in the country, with a focus on urban governance reforms.

Establish JCCD as a world-class organisation.Support citizen leaders and partner institutions across the country to carry forward

the ideas that Janaagraha stands for.

LONG-TERM GOALS

(5 YEARS & BEYOND)

governance; infrastructure; and environment. Janaagraha’s ambition for India

USP is to establish it as a vibrant annual platform deliberating on various urban

issues through the filter of space, influencing policies and action steps from all

urban stakeholders.

6. Advocacy

The experiences that Janaagraha has accumulated have resulted in the recognition

that fundamental changes are required in urban governance laws. Specifically,

Janaagraha has drafted two such laws, and advocated their inclusion in state

legislation in several states, as well as the national level. These laws are:

a. Institutionalising citizen participation in urban decentralisation: A draft Nagara

Raj bill that calls for the creation of a fully empowered Ward Committee in every

ward, and more importantly, the establishment of Area Sabhas as per the

footprint of polling stations within each ward. This is accompanied by

appropriate delegation of funds, functions and functionaries to both these tiers,

so that every voter has a legitimate stake in the political process, as in rural

decentralisation in India.

b. Mandatory disclosure of quarterly audited performance by municipalities: A draft

Disclosure Bill has been created, that requires municipalities to report their

financial and operating performance, including performance indicators for

various services.

Both of these reforms have been included as mandatory reforms in the largest urban

reform initiative in the country since independence—Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban

Renewal Mission. Launched by the Prime Minister in December of 2005, the Ministry

of Urban Development, GoI has constituted a Technical Advisory Group. JCCD

founder—Ramesh Ramanathan—has been appointed the National Technical Advisor for

this mission.

10 11

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY INTRODUCTION

J C C D G O V E R N A N C E S T R U C T U R E

Governance Structure of Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

Janaagraha’s governance structure design is indicated in the diagram and is as follows:

JCCD Governing Board: JCCD’s Governing Board members are a small but

remarkable group of institution-builders with deep knowledge about building

strong governance structures, open decision-making processes, and solid

management systems.The governing board meets four times a year with the

executive leadership of JCCD, to review the plans and progress of various

programmes and activities, ensuring that these are not only meeting milestones

and outcomes, but are in keeping with the larger vision and mission of

Janaagraha.

JCCD Working Council: At the operational level, a working council has been

established to evaluate the progress of different programmes and discuss

operational issues that need collective resolution. This working council is made

up of the coordinators of each programme and meets every month. In addition,

each programme coordinator has established an advisory group of five to fifteen

members that have specific skills and expertise specific, to the programme.

Coordinators hold regular reviews with their advisory groups.

JCCD Advisory Group: The working council has ongoing access to a Janaagraha

advisory group of subject matter experts and opinion leaders from various fields.

Once a year, the working council holds an introspection session with the

Janaagraha Advisory Group.

Governance Structure at JCCD

J A N A A G R A H A’ S G O V E R N I N G B O A R D

1. Anu Aga, Executive Director, Thermax (retd.)

2. Aloysius Fernandez, Executive Director, Myrada

3. L.C.Jain, Indian ambassador to SA

4. Dr G.K.Jayaram, Founder-Director, Institute of Leadership & Institutional Development (ILID)

5. Madhu Kishwar, Founder, Manushi

6. Dr R.A.Mashelkar, Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

7. Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, ex-IAS, Founder, Loksatta, Member—National Advisory Committee

8. Ramesh Ramanathan, Founder, Janaagraha, National Technical Advisor for JN-NURM

9. Swati Ramanathan, Founder, Janaagraha

G O V E R N A N C E

P R O G R A M M E S J A N A A G R A H AC E N T R E F O R

C I T I Z E N S H I P A N DD E M O C R A C Y

( J C C D )

J A N A A G R A H A W O R K I N G C O U N C I L

J A N A A G R A H AG O V E R N A N C E

G R O U PF U N D E R S

J C C DT R U S T E E S

( 3 M E M B E R S )

J A N A A G R A H AA D V I S O R Y

G R O U P

Voltaire said, 'If there was no God,

we would have to invent one.' If

there were no Janaagraha, it would

have to be invented. It brings a

unique message and presence into

the urban humanscape, and at the

end of 58 years after independence,

demands practice of real democracy

at the level of each citizen.

Janaagraha's success would be the

deepening of world's democracy, no

less, and it is on its way.

—Dr G.K. Jayaram,

Founder-Director,

Institute of Leadership

& Institutional

Development (ILID)

12 13

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY INTRODUCTION

J C C D P R O G R A M M E P R O F I L E

Figure: Programme Clusters at Janaagraha

CITIZEN LEADERSHIPP r o g r a m m e s

C O M M U N I T Y L E A D E R S ’

Grassroots Leadership Support

WA R D S A B H A / A R E A S A B H AChange Your Ward to Change Your World

V O T E R L I S T S A N D E L E C T I O N T U R N - O U T

The Starting Point in a Democracy

B A L A J A N A A G R A H AShaping Tomorrow's Citizens

PARTNERP ro g ra m m e s

O U T R E A C H Scaling Up and Out

P R O O FPUBLIC RECORD OF OPERATIONS & FINANCE

Quarterly Statements of Accounts from Local Government

V O T E I N D I APolitical Reforms

T E C H N O LO G YTechnology in Deepening Democracy

C O M M U N I C A T I O N S

H U M A N R E S O U R C E S & V O L U N T E E R M A N A G E M E N T

C I T I Z E N L E A D E R S H I P S U P P O R T G R O U P

F U N D I N G

A D M I N I S T R AT I O N Facilitating Professionalism

Extending the Platform for Debate and Dialogue

A Culture of Professional Volunteerrism

Mobilising at the Grassroots

Financial Resources Management

RESOURCEP ro g ra m m e s

COREP ro g ra m m e s

T R A I N I N GBuilding Citizen Awareness

A D V O C A C Y Creating the Momentum for

Governance Reforms

R E S E A R C HCombining Academic Rigour With

Grassroots Research

As can be viewed in the diagram, JCCD’s operational activities are broadly divided

under four programme types: Core, Leadership, Partner and Resource Programmes.

CORE PROGRAMMES: The three core programmes in this cluster are central to

Janaagraha. Our research involves study and analysis of existing governance

frameworks and the documentation of grassroot citizen action. This research,

linked with evolving global theory and experience in democratic principles, lays

the foundation for our training and advocacy. The core training for urban

residents is the Citizen Awareness Programme (CAP) which promotes an

understanding of the structure of government, defines the essential role of citizen

participation in a democracy and provides tools for civic engagement. Our

advocacy effort focuses on reforms in urban governance at the union, state and

local levels.

LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES: Leadership programmes could be short-term or

long-term. Leadership programmes could be of two types: a specific grassroots

campaign or activity or a longer-term programme for nurturing grassroot citizen

leadership.

PARTNER PROGRAMMES: Janaagraha’s partners in creating networks of

excellence with people and institutions that share our values and goals. Through

our Outreach Programme, we partner efforts in other parts of the country when

we are invited and believe we can add value. These partnerships could be with

government, civil society groups, or institutions.

RESOURCE PROGRAMMES: Janaagraha’s resource programmes deliver the

technology, human resources, communications, community support and funding

required for each of the other programmes and have strong dependencies and

linkages to each other. The needs of JCCD place demands that are different from

accepted models in other sectors, and each of the resource programme finds a

strong place in the delivery of JCCD’s goals.

N E T W O R K

Y U VA J A N A A G R A H AEngaging the Youth

I N D I A U S PThe Issue of Space in Shaping Vibrant Cities

14

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY COREP r o g r a m m e s

T R A I N I N GBuilding Citizen Awareness

A D V O C A C Y Creating the Momentum for Governance Reforms

R E S E A R C HCombining Academic Rigour with Grassroots Research

T R A I N I N G

Building Citizen Awareness

While the training programme addresses internal needs in the organisation such as

time-management, conflict resolution, project management, etc., the focus is on

building awareness around aspects of citizenship.

Urban Indians have strong opinions on what ails our country. Each of us has a

solution as well. The reality is that the majority of us do not know enough about

government to make judgements or to come up with informed solutions. Neither do we

at all times sufficiently understand our role in it as citizens in a democracy.

Through the extensive advocacy, research and grassroots activities, Janaagraha has

gained a relatively intimate understanding of government, democracy and citizenship.

Many of our experiences are documented, so that they serve as a foundation to

developing training content. Since we believe that the solutions do not lie in simplistic

interventions, our training modules are appropriately rigorous.

Part of Janaagraha's roadmap for scalable change is to create a repository of

information and experiences translated into training modules. One of our key

objectives is to strengthen citizen leaders. Based on the premise that we play our roles

as citizens more effectively and fully when we are better informed, Janaagraha is focused

on developing high quality awareness programmes that can equip citizens to proactively

engage with issues that concern them. These programmes link evolving global theory

and experiences on governance, with Janaagraha's own grassroots experiences.

The Citizen Awareness Programme (CAP) is the first of the training modules that

Janaagraha has developed. Based on the belief that each individual can play a role in

16 17

Our first project is in Political and Social Research, where we have established a

three-way partnership between the South Asia Study Program (SASP) at Johns Hopkins

University, the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and Janaagraha.

The project is on creating a Civic Literacy Index, beginning with a study in Bangalore,

to be gradually expanded to other cities in the country. The study will also be expanded

to explore the relationship between civic literacy and governance, and also be used as a

performance instrument for Janaagraha, to evaluate the impact of our work by testing

changes in levels of civic literacy.

Similar research projects are underway in Economic and Legal Research, but they are

in early stages of formalisation. In all these, Janaagraha’s approach will be to establish

partnerships with institutions doing complementary work in the areas concerned.

C O R E P R O G R A M M E SJ ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

R E S E A R C H

Combining Academic Rigour with Grassroots Research

Underlying our activities in research is the conviction that there can be no activism

without information. Over the past several years, our campaigns and activities related to

urban governance has given us insights into many aspects of Indian citizenship and

democracy—broadly classified as political and social, economic and legal. At a political

and social level, these experiences have been about understanding the enormous

distance between city dwellers and their local governments, the absence of political

space resulting in a greater sense of alienation in cities, exacerbated by the city’s

essential economic energy which straightjackets individuals into being producers or

consumers of goods and services, the inherent human instinct of people to connect

across caste, community and class if there were opportunities to do so, the relationship

between political parties and their candidates, and so on.

At an economic level, our experiences have given us an understanding of the

financial position of urban governments and the instruments available to them, of the

intergovernmental funding relationships broadly called fiscal federalism and the

enormous strides still left to be taken in India on this front, of the economic

opportunities that could be opened up by bringing greater participation in revenue

mobilisation at the city level.

At a legal level, we have begun to appreciate the complex legal tapestry that

underpins the proper functioning of the overall governmental system, most specifically

local governments. These include an understanding of the panoply of laws that define

who does what among various governmental actors, the inconsistencies among these,

the gap between constitutional provisions and ground realities, the need for advocacy to

be shaped by sharply defined legal solutions, the legal relationship between urban and

rural areas, and so on.

Our experiences and insights have been accompanied by the belief that more in-

depth study is required in each of these fields. However, we also understand that we do

not have the competencies to bring rigorous research processes to do justice to such a

study; and that there are institutions across the country and the world who are focused

on precisely such activities, with whom we could establish partnerships for research.

Our research programme at Janaagraha is focused on three areas—Political and Social

Research, Economic Research, and Legal Research.

In each of these areas, we will undertake work through partnerships with globally

recognised institutions, so that the research output can contribute to a greater collective

understanding of the particular theme being studied, and doesn’t reinvent the wheel.

Janaagraha has established a three-

way partnership between the South

Asia Study Program (SASP) at

Johns’ Hopkins University, the

Centre for the Study of Developing

Societies (CSDS)

Our advisory group includes:

• Ram Seshu, Leadership

Management International

• Sandeep Shastri, iACT

• Samar Singh, Activity

• Jayaram G K, ILID

• Chary V S, ASKI

• Saurav Mohanty CDS

Excellent Day-probably the best

Saturday of my life. I know now

that I have to participate in the

decision making process that governs

every aspect of my life.

—Shahnawaz Khan

Mindtree

I feel informed—like a citizen

should be. Democracy is about

demonstration by participation.

Thank you for waking us up.

—Madhup Jain,Mindtree

Janaagraha’s ideas, experiences, approach and work have evolved considerably from

December 2001. Along with it, the understanding of the complexities of government

structures in democracies around the world, has increased. The solutions we advocate

reflect our understanding.

Our advocacy efforts are focused on urban reforms for public governance and include:

i. Institutionalising citizen participation through the concept of local Area

Sabhas giving every registered voter in urban India a legitimate political space

and role for participation.

ii. Including a Law for Disclosure where local governments present quarterly

performance statements.

iii. Coordination between government agencies providing services to the

municipalities. Additionally, aligning the currently multiple jurisdictional

boundaries (administrative) with the political boundaries. This creates

accountability for all goods and services at the local level.

iv. Establishing regional structures for coordinated planning, within and across

local governments. Making planning and budgeting concurrent and

participatory. This is at both the micro level of the areas in each ward and the

macro level of the metropolitan region.

Based on the above, Janaagraha is proposing a framework for urban interventions to

governments with specific action points in addressing the issues plaguing our cities and

towns. We believe this framework provides sustainable reforms for how our public

institutions practice governance. They go beyond the temporary band-aid solutions that

many state and local governments are applying, and address the deeper malaise of poor

governance. The following are in brief, the ten critical action items at the regional level,

advocated in Janaagraha’s framework:

1. Permanent Metropolitan Planning Committee with coordination powers

a. Constitution with elected representatives and experts

b. Master planning procedures and technical groups

2. Completely revamped Municipality Law

a. Direct election to mayor

b. Three-tier structure of Municipality/Ward Committee/Area Sabha

c. Formal citizen participation in municipal affairs

d. Mandatory quarterly disclosure of performance

A D V O C A C Y

Creating the Momentum for Governance Reforms

A well-run city should be known not

just by the quality of its infra-

structure but the quality of its

participation. The first will follow

from the second, in a manner that is

fair and equitable.

18 19

our democracy, the CAP was created to give citizens the knowledge, motivation and

tools necessary to participate in the political process. The interactive programme is

conducted by trained facilitators with small groups of participants in corporate, college

and community settings. Through multimedia presentations participants learn about

the structure of the union, state and local governments, the infrastructure of service

providers and the strengths and challenges of our democracy. Role-playing, team and

individual exercises reinforce key concepts and provide opportunities for stimulating

interaction between participants. The final module introduces tools and methods for

community engagement that enable individuals to contribute to the quality of life in

their own community. Participants become part of a growing network of committed

citizens who feel a sense of ownership in their city and are empowered to shape the

future of our democracy.

The emerging voices of corporate India in demanding better infrastructure for

economic growth, are not only building pressure on the system, but are also opening up

space for more meaningful questions to be asked: what is the legitimacy of these voices,

who should be making decisions in public institutions, how is this linked to urban

politics, and what exactly does public governance mean? These questions are not

immediately apparent, but as more and more people start agitating, either in their

minds or on the streets, about the state of urban affairs, this energy can perhaps be

harnessed effectively. It could be directed towards constructive solutions that strengthen

democratic processes. Janaagraha maintains a continuous dialogue with the business

community on these issues in an effort to bring greater awareness and consensus on the

deeper reforms that are required in how our public institutions function.

Organisations in India are increasingly looking to participate meaningfully through

their Corporate Social Responsibility activities. A greater emphasis has emerged on

performance measurements along a triple bottom line of contribution to the companies'

financial performance, towards society and to the environment. Companies are striving

to include a substantial focus on issues of societal benefit and the role of the corporate

citizen.

The CAP provides a different approach in building leadership. Whether it is

employees, youth or citizen leaders, they are exposed to issues and situations unlike

anything they would experience in the course of their regular routine—working with

heterogeneous groups, building teams and leadership, an exposure to processes of

bargain consensus, working at the grassroots, understanding government machinery,

and nurturing a genuine sense of ownership for their cities. Most importantly, it

promotes a mindset of participating in decision-making, which can begin with their

workplace, institution, or neighbourhood.

C O R E P R O G R A M M E SJ ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

This was a terrific training

program facilitated by Swati and

Ramesh. Training sessions were

interspersed with role plays, games

and quizzes, making it very lively

and extremely informative. We

learned a lot and are better

prepared to participate in the

democratic institutions of our

country.

Dell India R&D Center was very

fortunate to host the first Citizen

Awareness Programme (CAP)

session. The session would help not

only in producing better citizens

but also better Dell employees. I

would highly recommend it to all

the companies. Absolutely terrific

programme, very inspiring indeed.

—Vivek Mansingh,Country Manager & Director

Dell India R&D Center

20 21

C O R E P R O G R A M M E SJ ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

3. Co-ordination mechanisms on all Municipal Services as per Schedule XII

(and Schedule XI) of the Amendment to the Constitution of India

a. Alignment of Jurisdictions based on ward boundaries

b. Joint budgeting/reporting cycles

4. Establishment of Spatial Data Centre

a. Real-time GIS for planning and coordination across agencies

5. Establishment of a regional Integrated Transport Authority

a. Planning and coordination across all public transport agencies

6. Implementing muncipal reforms at city-level

a. Financial Reforms in Budgeting, Accounting, MIS

b. HR and capacity building

c. Building codes

7. Urban land reforms

a. Simplified land records management

b. Guaranteed land title system

8. Integrated services for the urban poor

a. Provision of low-income housing

b. Other urban poor programmes such as micro-finance, skills upgradation, etc.

9. Defining and ensuring service outcomes

a. Establishing qualitative and quantitative benchmarks

b. Management and monitoring processes

c. Equitable outcomes for the poor

10. Development and delivery of comprehensive city plans

a. Regional footprint

b. Involvement of multiple stakeholders

c. Creation of appropriate infrastructure

d. Rigorous enforcement—e.g. zoning/land-use

e. Regular mapping/monitoring of economic activities in the city

11. Sustainable Urban Environment and Ecology

a. Using EIAs (Environmental Impact Assessment) to assess impact of urban

growth on the environment

b. Sustaining natural resources using appropriate technologies

c. Formulation of appropriate policies of incentives and dis-incentives to protect

the environment and ecology and to curb consumption

12. Sustaining the Urban Economy

a. Nurture the city’s natural competitive advantages such as natural resources,

land, human resources and build on requirements of infrastructure,

sustainability of resources, equitable public investments

b. Regular analysis of regional and local economic activity in both formal and

informal economies. Employment forecasting and the impact of migratory

trends

c. Formulation of plans with flexibility to capture new economic opportunities

and policies to encourage the informal sector to develop into formal sector

businesses

d. Formulation of responsible public-private partnerships while developing

economic strategies

This is an evolving framework that we will continue to enrich.

The figure below shows the regional framework for planning and coordination

AL L P UBL I C T R ANS P O R T

AGE N CI E S ( B US / R AI L / AI R /

T AXI S / AU T O/ R T O e t c . , )

AL L R E L E V ANTR E GU L A T O RYAU T H O R I T I E S

Janaagraha’s learning about successful advocacy is that it requires debate, agreement on

principles, defining specific outcomes, forming coalitions, and most importantly,

relentless leadership to effect change.

CO N CE R N E D P AR A- S T A T AL S , S P E CI AL - P UR P O S E V E H I CL E S ,S T A T E GO V T. D E P AR T M E N T S

L AW & O R D E R

P O W E R D I S T R I B UTI O N

P UBL I C H E ALT H

P L ANN I N G & ZO N I N G

E CO N O M I CS & S T A T I S T I CS

E N V I R O N M E N T &F O R E S T RY

E D UC A T I O N

R E V E N UE

I N D US T R I ALD E V E LO P M E N T

W O M E N & CH I L D W E L FA R E

W A T E R & S ANI T A T I O N

UR B AN P O O RS E R V I CE S

CO N CE R N E D LO CAL GO V E R N M E N T S

R U R A L

GR AM AP ANC H A Y A T S

T AL UK / ZI L L AP ANC H A Y A T S

GR AM A / W AR DS AB H A S

U R B A N

UR B AN LO CALGO V E R N M E N T

W AR DCO M M I T T E E S

AR E A S AB H A S

M E T R O P O L I T AN P L ANN I N G CO M M I T T E E

R E GI O N ALS P A T I AL D A T A

CE N T R E

M E T R O P O L I T ANT R ANS P O R TAU T H O R I T Y

1 10

4 5

3

2

6

2

9 7

9

83

9

22

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

LEADERSHIPP r o g r a m m e s

WA R D S A B H A /A R E A S A B H AChange Your Ward to Change Your World

V O T E R L I S T S & E L E C T I O N T U R N - O U T

The Starting Point in a Democracy

B A L A J A N A A G R A H AShaping Tomorrow's Citizens

Y U VA J A N A A G R A H AEngaging the Youth

C O M M U N I T Y L E A D E R S ’ N E T W O R KGrassroots Leadership Support

24

Janaagraha conceived the idea of

ward level federations to create

grassroots networks amongst

Resident Welfare Associations

(RWAs), citizens, local businesses,

educational institutions etc. The

following federations have been

established:

Abhyudaya - Ward 55

Abhaya - Ward 54

Shreyas - Ward 64

Pace - Ward 78

Forward 68 - Ward 68

Jago - Wards 90 & 94

Jana Vyapti - Ward 18

Ward 74 Citizens' Forum

Suprajaa - Ward 50

25

WA R D S A B H A / A R E A S A B H A

Change Your Ward to Change Your World

Two important Amendments to the Constitution in 1994 introduced the twin towers of

decentralised government: the 73rd amendment for rural India and 74th amendment

for urban India. Both are dysfunctional but for different reasons. In rural India, while

every villager is a member of the gram sabha with a formal voice in decentralised

decision-making, the tower is hollow, since the capacity for participation is inadequate

and a feudal society acts as a negative force. In urban areas, the capacity for

participation is in abundance but the ground floor of the tower is missing, with no

legitimacy for citizens to participate. Hence in urban India, democracy is allowed only

at the ballot box.

Janaagraha's energies have focused on citizen participation in urban local issues in

two ways:

The first is to facilitate informal platforms for regular citizen engagement with local

government on issues related to ward budgeting and development. These have been

called Ward Sabhas. Currently, citizen communities in 16 out of 100 wards, hold ward

sabhas every month with varying processes and varying degrees of success.

The ward sabhas provide real-time opportunities for local level leadership to emerge

and engage. The focus of Janaagraha’s ward sabha programme is on streamlining the

process and tools to maximise participation, efficiency and outcomes. For example,

Janaagraha’s ward-online system, Janasambandha, provides the technology platform to

track citizens’ complaints and government responses. This is a key tool in managing

community grievances. However, ultimately the success of the citizen participation in

urban areas will depend upon three factors: citizen tenacity in participating for a better

quality-of-life in their neighbourhoods, enlightened self-interest on the part of the

corporators, and a legal provision institutionalising citizen participation.

There are two repeated arguments against citizen participation: the first is that the

urban citizen is self-centered and doesn’t really care; the second is the argument about

the sheer size of the urban population making participation unwieldy and

unrepresentative. To the first argument: the presumption of apathy cannot be a tenable

reason for denying a legitimate role for the urban resident. In fact, giving a role to the

citizen places accountability on him as well.

To the second argument: Janaagraha has proposed a simple solution—the Area

Sabha. Each boundary is defined by individual polling station footprints. The polling

footprint is the lowest political demarcation based on household numbers of

approximately 1000 voters, which translates to about 300 households per polling

booth. Participation embedded around the polling station footprint ensures that

decentralisation is not too large to be cumbersome and not too small to be

insignificant. Every registered voter within each area will have an opportunity to

participate through Area Sabhas thus allowing equitable representation. The new ward

committee would therefore need to include nominated citizen representatives from

each Area Sabha in the Ward Sabhas.

Janaagraha has drafted a new model—Municipalities Act—that includes a Nagara Raj

component. This Nagara Raj component gives every registered urban voter a formal role

in the democratic process through the establishment of area sabhas. The Nagara Raj can

be introduced as an amendment to the existing municipalities act or as part of the new

Model Municipalities Act. We have been making steady progress in advocating this

change with governments at different levels across the country.

V O T E R L I S T S A N D E L E C T I O N T U R N - O U T

The Starting Point in a Democracy

While there are important electoral reforms required in the country, such as candidate

disclosure and affidavits and barring candidates with criminal records, the starting point

for citizens participating in the representative democratic landscape, is the ability to cast

their vote. In an aggregate democracy like ours, high voter turnout is critical, especially

in electing the local corporator where the margin of victory is sometimes as low as three

votes. This programme is focused on elections from the viewpoint of the citizens.

L E A D E R S H I P P R O G R A M M E SJ ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

Grassroots Leadership Support

J A N A A G R A H A C O M M U N I T Y L E A D E R S ’ N E T W O R K

This is a group of individual community champions who have participated in

Janaagraha’s grassroot initiatives and shown commitment in bringing about change at

their local level. Janaagraha’s belief is that this network has the leadership capacity to

be agents of change beyond the limits of their individual ward boundaries. Having

internalised the work, values and goals of Janaagraha, they will add significant value

and have shown willingness to further JCCD’s goals. The network has run a city-wide

campaign on Taxation with Transparency, spearheaded ward sabhas in their own wards,

created federations of Resident welfare Associations (RWAs) and helped in spreading

the message of participation in other parts of the city and state.

In the alphabet of democracy, we all

move from "E" to "F": elect and

forget. We need to stay on the letter

"E", elect and engage.

26 27

C.I.V.I.L.—Citizens' Initiative On Voter Identification List

Given the size of our democracy, a tremendous responsibility is placed on the

Election Commission to ensure accurate voter lists. While in the villages voter lists are

read out and verified at the Gram Sabhas; in urban India there is no such platform for

voter verification. The margin of error is estimated at a shocking 40-50 per cent in most

cities.

CIVIL is an ambitious campaign in partnership with Vote India and the Election

Commission of India. The CEC, Mr T.S. Krishnamurthy, launched the initiative on

April 15, 2005, with local citizens taking the initiative to verify the list from one pilot

assembly constituency of Rajajinagar. This constituency is made up of 12 of the 100

wards of Bangalore. Ward 14—Nagapura was the first surveyed by 200 student

volunteers from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Management.

The ward has 29 polling booths, each with approximately 300 households and 1100

voters per booth. Extensive training, material and back-end processes have been

designed and anchored by Janaagraha. Over 10,000 painstaking people-hours

were spent on ground verification in three booths.

The analysis of the survey conducted in 3500 households with

18,688 voters revealed statistics that are of deep concern: error

rates of over 65 per cent were found in the voter lists. These

errors are of two types, names

that need to be deleted and

names that need to be added.

The breakup as per the survey:

49 % of the Voters List was

found to be accurate; 51 % had

shifted residence and yet their

names continued to appear on

the list; and at least 15 % of

the residents were not included

in the list.

An exercise of this nature is

rich in learning and of great

value in exposing citizens to the

institutional challenges to our

democracy. Janaagraha has

proposed a solution based on

Shaping Tomorrow's Citizens

B A L A J A N A A G R A H A

The underlying belief of the Bala Janaagraha programme is that schools and society

must deliver on three critical aspects to the child’s education:

Academic instruction

A constant quest for personal growth and knowledge

A strong moral and social compass that will guide them in being responsible

citizens and in creating a just and humane society.

The Bala Janaagraha programme is focused on development of the third aspect for

children. It is an experiential programme where children explore civic issues directly

related to their neighbourhood and their role in shaping their communities. It

demystifies local government, introduces the political relevance of the ward, and stresses

the need for citizen participation in local governance. It is a programme explaining how

the city is planned, budgets are allocated, responsibilities are allocated between local,

state and union governments, and services and goods are administered.

Bala Janaagraha runs in both government and private schools, often bringing

students from different schools together. A key criteria in school selection is the

presence of active communities engaged in local governance issues. Students thus

connect with these communities and understand first-hand the idea of grassroot

engagement and democracy.

Teachers and community volunteers are trained in rigorously structured content,

with support from companies for volunteers and facilities. Communities develop

networks with parents on local governance issues, and the children gain awareness on

the working of their city and build a greater stake in their communities.

Built around extensively detailed lesson plans, field trips and projects, Bala

Janaagraha, has scaled up from 500 to 5000 children with an ambition to include

50,000 children in the very near future.

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY L E A D E R S H I P P R O G R A M M E S

R A J A J I N A G A R

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our ground experience and research that can significantly improve the accuracy of the

voter lists. The pilot has validated the importance of involving local citizens in the

verification process. The Area Sabhas detailed in the Ward Sabha programme, enables

an ongoing process of verification through citizen participation.

This situation of faulty voter lists plagues urban centres across India and needs

urgent redressing. If a citizen is unable to exercise her political right at the ballot box, it

crumbles the very edifice on which the democracy is built.

Our Advisory Group includes:

• Dr Vivek Mansingh,

Country Manager, Dell Software

• Mr Ashok Kamat,

Akshara Foundation·

• Mr Samar Singh, Activity

28

Engaging the Youth

Y U VA J A N A A G R A H A

Given that over 60% of the Indian population is between the ages of 18 and 30, getting

this segment to participate in governance issues is imperative. Yet in terms of political

engagement India’s urban youth is disinclined and disconnected. Yuva Janaagraha

attempts to address the challenge of youth engagement. The approach is one of finding

ways to highlight the importance of their role as citizens.

We do this in two ways:

Engaging them in volunteer activities through their academic institutions:

Janaagraha youth volunteers have shared examples of significant attitudinal

change. At the culmination of their volunteering activity, there has been

recognition of the importance of engagement, a greater understanding of

governance issues or a heightened awareness of social issues.

Initiating events of interest to the youth: Janaagraha has supported students in

programmes such as Look Who’s Talking—a career counseling series with leading

business heads—and DISHA, an inter-collegiate theatre festival with civic oriented

themes. Janaagraha includes the topic of public governance and participation at

these events.

Yuva Janaagraha experiments with different approaches in getting the youth

interested in issues of public policy and governance.

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

PARTNERP r o g r a m m e s

O U T R E A C H Scaling Up and Out

P R O O F

Quarterly Statements of Accounts from Local Government

V O T E I N D I APolitical Reforms

P R O O FUBLIC ECORD F PERATIONS & INANCE

I N D I A U R B A N S PA C E The Issue of Space in Shaping Vibrant Cities

The need of the hour is not

"passionate patriotism"—we had

that 50 years ago when people gave

up their lives for their country. The

need of the hour is "practical

patriotism" where each of us gives a

few hours a month, in balance with

the rest of our priorities: family,

work, entertainment.

30 31

O U T R E A C H

Scaling Up and Out

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P R O O F — PU B L I C R E C O R D O F O P E R A T I O N S & F I N A N C E

Quarterly Statements of Accounts from Local Government

PROOF is a powerful concept that promotes greater transparency and accountability in

local government institutions. Central to the PROOF agenda is the quarterly public

presentation of accounts by the city corporation. This provides citizens with the

opportunity to participate in discussions that are vital to their quality of life.

Three key at tr ibutes to Information—predictabi l i ty, immediacy and

standardisation—are critical for public disclosure to remain meaningful. The fully

computerised Fund Based Accounting System established in the Bangalore Mahanagara

Palike, enables prompt and accurate quarterly financial performance reports. This

provides the information backbone for PROOF to involve citizens in a meaningful

debate with their local government.

Janaagraha, initiated PROOF in July 2002 in partnership with three other citizen

based organisations. PROOF is now an independent, registered trust, in partnership

with Voices and Akshara, and with Janaagraha as the founding trustee.

Through the last eight quarters of public disclosure events, PROOF has undergone

tremendous maturation. While there is a long way to go, the wins have been substantial.

The initial reluctance from government has given way to a genuine willingness to

participate in quarterly public discussions. The financial reports which started with very

rudimentary data, have been putting on flesh and the public participants have moved

from individual grievances to deeper questions of performance and strategic decision-

making. Individual areas of government services—for example education—are measured

against exhaustive performance indicators based on ground analysis. Against these

benchmarks, intervention measures for improved outcomes are recommended.

The vision for PROOF is to establish a legitimate process and space for public

disclosure and performance evaluation of urban governments across the country. This

has two other significant benefits: at both national and state level, cities can start

comparing how they rank in the delivery of public goods and services; and through the

process of PROOF in My Ward participatory budgeting and accountability can be taken

to the neighbourhood level.

The work done through PROOF is already beginning to shape public policy. The

National Urban Renewal Mission has included mandatory disclosure as a prerequisite

for civic bodies, and PROOF provides a model for disclosure in Bangalore.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has highlighted the PROOF

effort in a compilation of successful accountability ideas. PROOF has also been chosen

by the World Bank as one of the best practices in the Asia Pacific region. PROOF has

P A R T N E R P R O G R A M M E SJ ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

Good quality public governance can

only happen with equal measures of

supply-side reform and demand-side

participation. The wheels of

government need to engage with the

wheels of citizens' participation, for

the engine of democracy to move

forward.

been short listed by CRISIL for an award for innovative excellence in bringing public

institution accountability. PROOF is now spreading its wings with Yuva—a civil society

initiative—taking it forward in Nagpur, Maharashtra. The municipal government of

Mumbai too has expressed interest in adopting PROOF in Mumbai.

V O T E I N D I A

Political Reforms

VOTEINDIA is a national campaign for political change, focused on three key reforms:

proportional representation-based electoral system; direct election of the Chief Minister;

internal democracy in political parties that is regulated by law.

JCCD is a partner of VOTEINDIA. The voter verification programme C.I.V.I.L. was

initiated by Janaagraha as part of the VOTEINDIA platform.

I N D I A U R B A N S PA C E ( I n d i a U S P )

The Issue of Space in Shaping Vibrant Cities

Land has been delineated into political, administrative and community units. The

markings we make on our land are the tangible manifestation of our social structure,

economic activity and political currents. Almost all decisions whether on the economy,

environment, housing, water supply, transportation, poverty alleviation and so on, are

directly or indirectly connected to land or space. Yet when urban masterplans and

district structural plans are drawn up, there is no input from the multiple players

engaged in these urban issues.

While urban forums across the world are engaged in lively debates about local and

global issues, there are very few conferences that seek the spatial translation of urban

issues. IndiaUSP provides a platform for such debate, using the filter of space. Such a

platform is especially important in India because:

The relentless pace of urbanisation doesn’t allow a sequential approach to

addressing these urban challenges. Urbanising players in the global marketplace

do not have the luxury of following the pace of the past. An annual conference

can result in articulating a more urgent and holistic action-oriented approach.

For meaningful concurrent approaches a framework is needed. If the urbanised

countries are struggling with linking their inter-dependencies, the challenges are

32 33

P A R T N E R P R O G R A M M E SJ ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

even more for the newly urbanising countries like India. IndiaUSP highlights the

need for urgent, collaborative action.

Globalisation and marketplace economics are creating their own challenges in

newly urbanising countries. In order to side step the danger of the

'macdonaldisation' of our cities, we need to quickly find the soul of urban India.

IndiaUSP will enrich the dialogue in defining what this soul means and how to

keep it alive.

India faces huge administrative and political challenges. The myriad stakeholders

of urbanising India need a common indigenous platform for urban discussions.

IndiaUSP provides a national platform for broadening local and regional capacity

to connect learnings with successful outcomes.

India’s young democracy provides rich experimental ground for its government

and citizenry to jointly define tools and processes of decision-making and action

agendas. The effort is relevant for both urbanising countries as well as

democratising countries. How our urban growth takes place is as important as

the development itself. In East-Asian countries such as China and Singapore,

development has been centralised and technocratic in nature. As the largest

democracy in the world, India has a unique opportunity to urbanise in a manner

where the means share centre-stage with the ends. IndiaUSP will facilitate a

discussion on these processes.

IndiaUSP was launched in February 2006 in Goa and is the first national

conference on SPACE. The participants were an invited list of 75, representing

government, civil society, infrastructure players, environmentalists, financial specialists,

experts on constitutional law, etc.

The outcomes of the first conference were multifold: understanding differing

viewpoints and objectives, examining individual areas of work in the context of a larger

canvas, finding consensus on priorities and looking at the impact of time, cost, political

and bureaucratic will on solutions articulated.

The vision for IndiaUSP is to establish an annual conference of substance and scale.

A conference that will bring together a variety of stakeholders to explore the inter-

linkages between urban issues and to work towards organised priorities and action

steps.

RESOURCEP r o g r a m m e s

A D M I N I S T R AT I O N Facilitating Professionalism

T E C H N O LO G YTechnology in Deepening Democracy

Mobilising at the Grassroots

C O M M U N I C AT I O N SExtending the Platform for Debate and Dialogue

H U M A N R E S O U R C E S & V O L U N T E E R M A N A G E M E N TA Culture of Professional Volunteerism

C I T I Z E N L E A D E R S H I P R E S O U R C E G R O U P

F U N D I N GFinancial Resources Management

Participatory PlanningA Citizens' Handbook

Published by: Ramanathan Foundation, 2003 Elizabeth Clay and Swati Ramanathan

Shaping Vibrant CitiesParticipatory Neighbourhood Planning

Published by: Ramanathan Foundation, 2003 written by Elizabeth Clay and Swati Ramanathan

Urban Property Alleviation in IndiaVolume 1: A General Assessment and a Particular Perspective

Authors: Supriti, Sharon M. Barnhardt, Ramesh RamanathanPublished by: Ramanathan Foundation, 2002

Urban Property Alleviation in IndiaVolume 2: Landmark Government Initiatives for the

Urban Poor since Independence

Authors: Supriti, Sharon M. Barnhardt, Ramesh RamanathanPublished by: Ramanathan Foundation, 2002

36

Our Advisory group includes:

• Mr Anil Viakara CEO, Invenio Inc

• Mr Sridhar Ranganathan CEO,

Blue Vector Inc

• Ms Akila Krishnakumar CEO

SCT Software

• Dr S. Sadagopan Director IIITB.

• Dr Vivek Mansingh

Country Manager, Dell Software

• Mr Sri Jaganathan

Managing Director Symantec

Products and Solutions, USA

Our Advisory Group includes:

• Allen Mendonca, Publications

consultant, Bangalore 080.

• Arun Sirdeshmukh, Indus League

• Balaji, Alternative

Communications Strategy

• Chicku & Jayadev,

Resource Communications

• Francisco Saldanha, The Scribble

• Meera Pillai, Synergy

• Ponnappa, Cartoonist

• Suresh Manian,

Fisheye Consultants

• Velu Shankar,

Media WorldSpace Consultant

• Vijayan Menon,

Advertising Consultant

37

A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

Facilitating Professionalism

The administrative challenge in JCCD is twofold: to manage grassroot citizen activities

and events; and to ensure a professional work environment at JCCD that brings

consistency in the quality of the work of the organisation. This is especially important

since Janaagraha has a high inflow and outflow of volunteers.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N SExtending the Platform for Debate and Dialogue

Janaagraha has a physical office space and is involved in grassroot activity in the greater

Bangalore region. However the work and ideas on public governance reforms it is

engaged in, are relevant in the urban landscape across India. Some of the thinking and

work in Janaagraha has been captured in our articles, papers and publications.

However, widespread dissemination of Janaagraha’s work and an exchange of ideas

and experiences on social and political trends globally, necessitates a virtual platform-

one that is unshackled by the constraints of geography.

Building and maintaining a robust website that can deliver on this vision is one of

the key goals of the communications programme. Janaagraha’s website talks about our

programmes, our news, about community initiatives at the grassroots, gives us access to

volunteers and keeps them in touch with us, and also allows each coordinator to

archive, update and manage their programmes.

In addition, we use the power of community communication tools and mass media

whenever relevant.

Our monthly newsletter Janaagraha Times, keeps our grassroot community members

and local institutions informed of our activities. The electronic version goes out to our

volunteers and well-wishers. To strengthen the scope and reach of our communication,

all messaging is bilingual (English and Kannada).

The communications delivery for Janaagraha’s core leadership and outreach

programmes are of a myriad nature: film, radio, street theatre, logos, publications,

posters, banners, hoardings, brochures, fliers, etc.

One of JCCD’s goals is to effectively utilise the power of technology as an enabler in

the urban governance landscape. The organisation’s vision for technology is two-fold:

1. Servicing the needs of JCCD’s programmes and enabling them to link where

their functions overlap

2. Enabling the organisational goal of participatory democracy

On the first

Technology takes care of the software and hardware needs for the overall functional

requirements. The general requirements are large data base handling, speed, multi-

format content management, data storage and retrieval, and sourcing external services

where required. In addition, the technology team designs solutions for Janaagraha’s

specific needs on communications, volunteer management, programme management,

creation of groups, emails administration, etc. The website is an important

communications tool to the world at large and technology works to make this easy to

maintain, update and provide links between programme overlaps.

On the second

In urban situations the process of deliberation and consensus has seemed an impossible

ideal thus far. The ideal of democracy is to do with how binding collective decisions are

made by a group of free and equal individuals. Globally, democratic processes are being

challenged everywhere, with more pressures for citizens to be heard. The success of

revolutionary technology of open-source software such as Linux and Wikipedia validates

counter-intuitive ideas like the wisdom of crowds or co-creating value with customers.

Janaagraha’s technology programme is working towards large-scale information

dissemination, providing a virtual platform for debate and simplified processes for

Technology in Deepening Democracy

T E C H N O L O G Y

engagement. Besides the website which hosts useful information about government and

civic agencies, two specific examples where Janaagraha uses technology for citizen

participation are: the development of Spatial Geographic Data; and Ward Online, a

ward-level citizens’ complaint management system. The first is an important

cartographical tool designed for local community information and grassroots

participation. The second is an online complaint management system that captures

complaints and tracks the redressal status.

While Janaagraha has still a long way away in harnessing the true potential of

technology in its work, the programme has an outstanding group of advisors to help

guide it along.

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38 39

Communications has been a strong focus in Janaagraha from its inception. The

programme has some of the premier names in communications forming a group of

advisors that meets every month to review and help deliver the communication needs

of Janaagraha.

Internal communications keeps all the staff and key volunteers connected on all

activities and events in the organisation on a regular basis besides providing valuable

documentation.

H U M A N R E S O U R C E S & V O L U N T E E R M A N A G E M E N T

A Culture of Professional Volunteerism

Volunteerism in many countries is an integral part of student activity as well as citizen

involvement. Helping in old-age homes, going on blood drives for the Red-Cross,

sweeping up leaves in neighbourhood parks, political campaigning or internships in

government institutions volunteering is a significant allocation of people’s time, skills

and energies.

In India the concept of Volunteerism is still in its infancy. We have found that

people are willing to give their time and energies if they find the experience rewarding

and believe that their work helps make a difference. The key is in structuring the

activity so that it is rewarding for the individual as well as for Janaagraha.

Volunteers are the driving forces that move Janaagraha. Each of us can use our

experiences, skills and passions to help in one way or another. Hundreds of volunteers

brought Janaagraha to where it is today by surveying roads, calling fellow citizens,

hosting training events, doing office administration and mobilising communities. Today

we have over several positions in our various programmes with different skill

requirements and time commitments, so there are multiple choices on where volunteers

can contribute.

While Janaagraha has a core group of paid permanent staff, about two hundred full

time and part time volunteers provide us our human resource requirements at any given

point in time. Volunteers are important to Janaagraha in two respects: to keep the

organisation infused with new ideas and creativity, and because volunteering is part of

the ethos of the organisation. 'Practical Patriotism' and 'Professional Volunteerism' are

drivers in Janaagraha's approach to volunteers.

Volunteerism is not just about giving back—it is also an opportunity for personal

growth. Janaagraha believes that every volunteer should have the opportunity to develop

their skills or pursue activities of their interest and matches them accordingly.

Our volunteers have come from

diverse backgrounds. An international

journalist, a retired Air Vice-

Marshal, Urban Planners,

Economists, Doctors, retired IAS

Officers, housewives, International

Bankers, lawyers, Corporate CEOs

We have regular interns from

institutions like—M.S. Ramaiah

College; Mount Carmel College;

Jyothi Nivas; Jain Group; Bangalore

University; Convergence Institute of

Media, Management & Information

Studies (COMMITS); Surana

College; NALSAR, University of Law,

Hyderabad; S.P. Jain (Mumbai); etc.

We have student volunteers from law

schools, planning schools, economic

majors, management institutions and

various international institutions like

Clark Institute, Berkeley, MIT,

Washington University, NYU, York

University, London School of

Economics, Harvard, etc.

Janaagraha has provided unique opportunities to volunteers to enhance individual

skills while contributing to their city and society. Bringing together people from diverse

backgrounds and skills and exposing them to issues of governance, citizenship and

democracy provides a memorable experience that is sometimes life changing.

The challenges in volunteer management are different from standard human

resource management. It requires dealing with a large and changing pool, constantly

updating the volunteer data bank, matching availability and skillsets to requirements,

continuing communications through the internet and defining appropriate policies for

volunteer relationships.

Two of our continuous sources for volunteers are academic institutions and

companies. Many colleges and academic institutions have entered into formal

relationships with Janaagraha, sending their students for constructive work in the social

arena. Companies too, engage in strategic relationships for their corporate social

responsibility related programmes.

Our advisory group includes:

• Aruna Gopakumar, Navgati.

• Hema Ravichander

• John Idicula, HR Head,

Metro Cash-n-Carry

• Sridhar Parathasarathy, ILID

J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY R E S O U R C E P R O G R A M M E S

L E A D E R S H I P S U P P O R T G R O U P

Mobilising at the Grassroots

This is a team with grassroot experience in mobilising. The goal for them is to support

the leadership programmes as and when required in four aspects: mobilisation of

citizens, resident welfare associations, local businesses and instututions; building

relationships between community and local service providers, encouraging the

community to connect with their corporators; mobilising the urban poor to participate;

and organising local events on civic participation such as solid waste management

drives, etc.

The group is also responsible for streamlining the ward sabha processes and tools to

maximise the desired outcomes of participation and progress in two pilot wards.

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J ANAAGRAH A C ENTRE FOR C I T IZENS HIP A ND D EMOCARCY

F U N D I N G

Financial Resources Management

Since Janaagraha was launched in 2001, Ramanathan Foundation has been the sole

funding source for Janaagraha’s activities. The financial outlay to date is as follows:

Year 1 outlay: 104 lakh

Year 2 outlay: 55 lakh

Year 3 outlay: 51 lakh

Year 4 outlay: 66 lakh

Proposed budget for 2006-2007: 65 lac

JCCD has set up a state-of-the-art accounting system that ensures complete financial

transparency and accountability. Annual budgets are now prepared by individual

programme coordinators, vetted by the working council and approved by the Founders.

Janaagraha Foundation was established in 2005 to enable JCCD to accept funding

support from additional sources. The decision on seeking external funding is now

necessary because with the increasing success of Janaagraha’s work, the scale and scope

of its activities has also increased. It is now unrealistic for Ramanathan Foundation to

continue as the only financial resource for JCCD.

A fund-raising initiative has been put into place that will raise funds in four

categories:

1. Endowment towards building a corpus for long term financial sustainability

2. Funding support for Janaagraha’s annual budget requirements

3. Funding support for a specific program or set of programs

4. Funding a specific activity or event

The fund-raising initiative will identify organisations and individuals with values

and interests that are in alignment with those of JCCD. Janaagraha’s working council

will clear prospective donors before entering into any relationship. The funding

programme aims to support the vision and goals of JCCD. While raising funds, we are

also committed to building relationships and enhancing the reputation of Janaagraha,

by being accountable to our stakeholders, and being professional and ethical in our

practices.

The Janaagraha Coordinators' Team: (left to right) Dr Meenakshi Bharath, Sapna Karim, Cheryl Rebello, Indira Viswanathan, Swati Ramanathan, Preetha Radhakrishnan.

(row behind—right to left) Rama Errabelli,Col. Rudra, Ramesh Ramanathan, K.K. Nayarand Pramod Goni.

Members of the Community Leaders' Network:(left to right) Mr Y. Damodar, Mr N.S. Mukund,

Mr T. Vidyadhar, and Mr R.C. Dutt